Windsor school to feature exhibit of ailing pre-teen's art

Kaitlyn Heflin gets a hug from her mother, Liz, while working on a drawing at their home in Windsor, on Friday, September 13, 2013. Kaitlyn, who has a complex seizure disorder, is holding an art show on September 25 to thank emergency workers, doctors and the community for their support. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)

BY MARY CALLAHAN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

September 23, 2013, 7:25PM

09/23/2013

The "About the Author" section that appears at the back of the small book by Kaitlyn Heflin touches on all the constants of her life: her mom, brother Kai, her doctors, the seizures, the feeding tubes that sustain her.

The doctors help her, she wrote. They're best when they're funny. She loves making art, designing dresses and playing guitar. Her mom and Kai make her feel better.

"My life," wrote the author of the book of colorful artwork and written observations about the world, "is super great."

Kaitlyn Heflin's Artwork

"The Golden Gate Bridge In The Night" by 12-year-old Kaitlyn Heflin. Kaitlyn, who has a complex seizure disorder, is holding an art show on Sept. 25 to thank emergency workers, doctors and the community for their support. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

The announcement for Kaitlyn Heflin's art show. Kaitlyn, who has a complex seizure disorder, is holding an art show on Sept. 25 to thank emergency workers, doctors and the community for their support. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

Kaitlyn Heflin's favorite drawing. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

Kaitlyn Heflin gets a hug from her mother, Liz, while working on a drawing at their home in Windsor on Friday, September 13, 2013. Kaitlyn, who has a complex seizure disorder, is holding an art show on Sept. 25 to thank emergency workers, doctors and the community for their support. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

"The Things I Love" by Kaitlyn Heflin. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

"The Lake Park" by Kaitlyn Heflin. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

"Sunset Over a Bridge" by Kaitlyn Heflin. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

Kaitlyn Heflin, 12, works on a drawing at her home in Windsor on Friday, Sept. 13, 2013. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD

It is, perhaps, a testament to how long Kaitlyn's life has been shaped and controlled by the seizure disorder that sets her apart from other 12-year-olds that she's able to muse so glowingly about her good fortune without irony.

But there's also a purity in Kaitlyn's love of family and friends, in her appreciation of what's beautiful about the world, that suggests no one could have taught her to look on the bright side — that it's just who she is.

"That's how she talks," said her mother, Liz Heflin, 33. "She's just always trying to make things better."

Kaitlyn injects all that enthusiasm into her brightly inked artwork that is a source of both solace and joy — a useful distraction when there's pain in her stomach or she feels sick, and a means of expressing delight and gratitude about life.

"It's fun, and it makes me forget about the things that I worry about," Kaitlyn said, seated on the family couch, a furry brown blanket draped across her alarmingly thin frame and a stuffed dog named Prince nearby. "When I draw a picture, I feel good and better."

She's especially prolific these days because of a subtle stabilizing of her condition that allows her to have longer periods of being awake and alert.

But she's also expanding her portfolio for a special event Wednesday planned by her mom and a handful of friends who have arranged for her to have an art exhibit in the gym at Mattie Washburn Elementary in Windsor, where she started school.

Though her delicate health has prevented her from attending regular school since the third grade, the staff at Mattie Washburn, a kindergarten/first-grade campus, have a special affection for the girl who worked so hard to keep up, though her seizures sometimes made her so sleepy she'd have to pull out a special mat to nap.

"She's a delightful little girl," said Principal Benita Jones. "It's pretty hard not to be affected by Kaitlyn and how strong and determined she was just to be one of the kids."

Susie Rosen, Kaitlyn's first-grade teacher, who also taught her younger brother Kai, now 9, has remained a close family friend. She was on the phone with Kaitlyn's mother when they hatched the plan for the exhibit.

"It's such a huge outlet for her," Rosen said of Kaitlyn's art. "This is a way that she can express her feelings and everything."

A small preview of the display was posted at the Windsor public library recently and will be expanded for the Wednesday evening exhibit, with each piece accompanied by written commentary Kaitlyn dictated to her mom.

The pieces include a drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge by night, inspired by a trek to the Kaiser hospital in San Francisco the night before a procedure, and another called "The Things I Love," featuring a butterfly, birds, flowers and sun on the grass and water.

About "Sunset Over a Bridge," the artist wrote, "I love the sunset because it's beautiful. It makes me happy to look at, even when I don't feel good."

A drawing of her splayed hands, the thumbs and index fingertips touching in the shape of a heart, is called "Love Is in My Hands."

Under "The Lake Park," created after a special visit last month to Riverfront Park, she said, "Drawing places I like to be is fun. It makes me feel proud when I'm done. Art helps me forget all the things that I don't like, like formula and when my stomach hurts or I feel shaky."

Kaitlyn began suffering from seizures as a toddler and in recent years has suffered extreme symptoms, including pain in her stomach that has made her dependent on liquid nutrition pumped into her body over 18-hour cycles each day.

Still, she remains within 10 pounds of her lowest weight and is too weak to walk far, relying largely on a stroller outfitted with carabiners that can hold her feeding equipment if she needs to go out. She has headaches, irritations where the tubes insert into her abdomen, and is sleepy much of the time.

But Kaitlyn has had more productive waking hours in recent months that permit her to do some of the schoolwork brought to her home once a week and to work on her drawings, pieces colored with cheerful permanent markers — each section of every page filled in with segmented strokes.

The drawings sometimes take several days because of limits on her energy, but are abundant nonetheless, often serving as thank-yous to medical personnel or caring staff.

Her mom said she's eager to share her daughter's art with all of the friends and supporters — some people they don't even know — who have helped the family through the most difficult times.

But she's glad to have a chance, as well, to celebrate a child for whom outings are rare and birthday parties overwhelming. Even birthday cake is impractical.

"I want to acknowledge the community for everything they've done for us," she said, "and kind of show them, 'This is her. This is who you helped.'"

Kaitlyn's art will be on display in the new gym at Mattie Washburn school from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The "About the Author" section that appears at the back of the small book by Kaitlyn Heflin touches on all the constants of her life: her mom, brother Kai, her doctors, the seizures, the feeding tubes that sustain her.

The doctors help her, she wrote. They're best when they're funny. She loves making art, designing dresses and playing guitar. Her mom and Kai make her feel better.

"My life," wrote the author of the book of colorful artwork and written observations about the world, "is super great."

It is, perhaps, a testament to how long Kaitlyn's life has been shaped and controlled by the seizure disorder that sets her apart from other 12-year-olds that she's able to muse so glowingly about her good fortune without irony.

But there's also a purity in Kaitlyn's love of family and friends, in her appreciation of what's beautiful about the world, that suggests no one could have taught her to look on the bright side — that it's just who she is.

"That's how she talks," said her mother, Liz Heflin, 33. "She's just always trying to make things better."

Kaitlyn injects all that enthusiasm into her brightly inked artwork that is a source of both solace and joy — a useful distraction when there's pain in her stomach or she feels sick, and a means of expressing delight and gratitude about life.

"It's fun, and it makes me forget about the things that I worry about," Kaitlyn said, seated on the family couch, a furry brown blanket draped across her alarmingly thin frame and a stuffed dog named Prince nearby. "When I draw a picture, I feel good and better."

She's especially prolific these days because of a subtle stabilizing of her condition that allows her to have longer periods of being awake and alert.

But she's also expanding her portfolio for a special event Wednesday planned by her mom and a handful of friends who have arranged for her to have an art exhibit in the gym at Mattie Washburn Elementary in Windsor, where she started school.

Though her delicate health has prevented her from attending regular school since the third grade, the staff at Mattie Washburn, a kindergarten/first-grade campus, have a special affection for the girl who worked so hard to keep up, though her seizures sometimes made her so sleepy she'd have to pull out a special mat to nap.

"She's a delightful little girl," said Principal Benita Jones. "It's pretty hard not to be affected by Kaitlyn and how strong and determined she was just to be one of the kids."

Susie Rosen, Kaitlyn's first-grade teacher, who also taught her younger brother Kai, now 9, has remained a close family friend. She was on the phone with Kaitlyn's mother when they hatched the plan for the exhibit.

"It's such a huge outlet for her," Rosen said of Kaitlyn's art. "This is a way that she can express her feelings and everything."

A small preview of the display was posted at the Windsor public library recently and will be expanded for the Wednesday evening exhibit, with each piece accompanied by written commentary Kaitlyn dictated to her mom.

The pieces include a drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge by night, inspired by a trek to the Kaiser hospital in San Francisco the night before a procedure, and another called "The Things I Love," featuring a butterfly, birds, flowers and sun on the grass and water.

About "Sunset Over a Bridge," the artist wrote, "I love the sunset because it's beautiful. It makes me happy to look at, even when I don't feel good."

A drawing of her splayed hands, the thumbs and index fingertips touching in the shape of a heart, is called "Love Is in My Hands."

Under "The Lake Park," created after a special visit last month to Riverfront Park, she said, "Drawing places I like to be is fun. It makes me feel proud when I'm done. Art helps me forget all the things that I don't like, like formula and when my stomach hurts or I feel shaky."

Kaitlyn began suffering from seizures as a toddler and in recent years has suffered extreme symptoms, including pain in her stomach that has made her dependent on liquid nutrition pumped into her body over 18-hour cycles each day.

Still, she remains within 10 pounds of her lowest weight and is too weak to walk far, relying largely on a stroller outfitted with carabiners that can hold her feeding equipment if she needs to go out. She has headaches, irritations where the tubes insert into her abdomen, and is sleepy much of the time.

But Kaitlyn has had more productive waking hours in recent months that permit her to do some of the schoolwork brought to her home once a week and to work on her drawings, pieces colored with cheerful permanent markers — each section of every page filled in with segmented strokes.

The drawings sometimes take several days because of limits on her energy, but are abundant nonetheless, often serving as thank-yous to medical personnel or caring staff.

Her mom said she's eager to share her daughter's art with all of the friends and supporters — some people they don't even know — who have helped the family through the most difficult times.

But she's glad to have a chance, as well, to celebrate a child for whom outings are rare and birthday parties overwhelming. Even birthday cake is impractical.

"I want to acknowledge the community for everything they've done for us," she said, "and kind of show them, 'This is her. This is who you helped.'"

Kaitlyn's art will be on display in the new gym at Mattie Washburn school from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.